


The Eyes That See

by auroramyths



Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Blind Character, Blindness, Curses, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Fluff and Angst, Forests, Gods, Hurt/Comfort, Injury, M/M, Punishment, Slavery, animal cruelty, medusa-like curse, pls be nice i didnt proofread or beta this lol
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-02-28
Updated: 2021-02-28
Packaged: 2021-03-12 04:07:47
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,448
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29753820
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/auroramyths/pseuds/auroramyths
Summary: Sakusa Kiyoomi had been punished by the gods. He stays trapped in a forest, bearing a curse- those who meet his eyes will be turned to stone. He lives in hiding from the world.Miya Atsumu, a runaway slave, stumbles in the same forest Kiyoomi was held in.Their stars cross and Sakusa is surprised that Atsumu faces him with no fear, then he learns that Atsumu had been blind since birth. Something blossoms between the two- love, or quite possibly, a dreaded fate.or a story where sakusa becomes atsumu's eyes and atsumu shows sakusa the things that the eyes can't see.
Relationships: Miya Atsumu/Sakusa Kiyoomi
Comments: 1
Kudos: 28





	The Eyes That See

**Author's Note:**

  * For [lathala](https://archiveofourown.org/users/lathala/gifts), [violetsonherlap](https://archiveofourown.org/users/violetsonherlap/gifts), [psychedelian](https://archiveofourown.org/users/psychedelian/gifts).



> disclaimer: i referenced blindness from papers and stories and movies. if something about it is wrong, please don't hesitate to educate me. thank you.

Thick fog flooded the forest, attempting to cover the light pouring from the sun above and holding the break of day in its wake. The animals, some just stirring up from last night’s slumber, and some heading to the caves of dark to avoid the light and rest during the morning hours, anticipated something else other than the rising of the sun.

Almost silently, coldness hung about the pathway trail between the trees. The birds that were to sing songs remained still in their nests, and the fresh grass, if they could, almost trembled to their roots. The wind, seemingly so, fell into a hushed breeze, settling among the leaves rather than passing by them.

The forest and everything in it looked like a held breath during these hours. And if trees could whisper, they would exchange the same, faint murmurs: _He is approaching._

Their fear appears as a young man in a maroon cloak, with thick layers of coat beneath it, to ward off the coldness of the forest; he is oblivious that the drop in temperature is somewhat linked with his presence, too.

His skin is pale - pale enough that when his curls of black hair rest loosely in front of his face, there is almost a harmony in colors to it. His lips are in a light shade of red, forming his mouth that spoke so rarely. On the right side of his forehead, just above his brow, two moles sit, one on top of the other. His eyes, his notable eyes, were colored like the first sight of sunrise, and the grounds after the rain, mixed together- a deep brown so enticing that one would stare in wonder if they could. 

The young man hears a rustling in the shrubs ahead of him. He takes a step forward, then another. He would see what it was. And it, a hare in the middle of hunting a prey, was unaware of its dreaded fate with each step the young man took. The hare hears it, a twig snapping from the sole of the shoes. It looks up, meets the young man’s gaze, and the world around it stops.

The young man, Sakusa Kiyoomi, spares a few seconds to the now-stone hare, as if offering a prayer to it. He doesn’t dwell around it for too long and he continues on making his way to the clearing, as he does every morning, taking in the sight of the plain as far as his eyes could go. He is, after all, a prisoner of the forest.

Sakusa’s days rolled on like the days before it, the same cycle of walking, talking a little to himself, scaring the does he’d see at the corner of his sight, then wandering around to harvest what he could. He knew the way around the forest by now - who wouldn’t, really, if they are held imprisoned there for the past century.

He had made a fool out of the gods, long ago- the reason for it still clear in his mind but he was determined to keep it untouched; locked in a safe somewhere the void of his thinking. He was struck down at the heart of the same forest where he found they had cursed him- an invisible barrier keeping him inside that if touched by his skin, would only lead to him hearing the voices from his past for the following days. He tried escaping once and the effect of the barrier never made him want to try again. The gods knew his weakness and they were determined to close him in.

As if it was not enough for him to be trapped inside the remote forest, the gods made sure he would never get close to humans or animals, barely considering the plants out of the choices, as they doomed him with the curse of turning something to stone once his eyes meet the other’s.

This curse caused the lives of almost 24 people since its bestowal- mostly hunters who wound up in the deep part of the forest, intrigued about a young man they’d seen. Curiosity killed the cat, people would say, but in these men’s cases, it was a death that crawled over them, like a snake waiting in silence to pounce on someone and would kill with their venomous bite before the person could ask for help. They would feel the stiffening of their lower limbs first, rooting them in place. Then the feeling would climb up to places it had not reached yet while the lower parts slowly solidified, blood and bones and muscles, no more, just solid stone. In their last moments, just before the air in their lungs get cemented inside their system, in the last desperate breaths and restless eyes, Sakusa would look at them straight in the eye. This was the only moment people got to see his beautiful eyes again, without any traps. He would mutter a sorry before leaving them and coming back later to decorate their stone with flowers. It was the only way the sinner freed himself from guilt. Or at least that’s what he makes himself think.

Sakusa wasn’t really the type to dwell on what has happened.

  
  
  


The days came and went as they usually did, uneventful. Autumn was passing by quickly, welcoming the winter’s breeze with every new day unfolding. Sakusa was bright enough to start collecting firewood, so he would go to the side of the forest, across a river, to cut trees with an axe he’d gotten from one of his victims.

With his back turned to the rest of the forest and his focus on his grip of the axe, animals would watch him closely, observing him. When he would notice their staring eyes, he would make an act as if to turn his head, and the animals would scramble to hide in the nearest hiding places they could go to. Sakusa would snicker to himself, finding amusement in it. This was how he kept himself entertained.

The leaves from trees eventually started wilting, and the forest started looking brighter with the orange-colored hues that ranged from yellow to red, painting the dead leaves. The nights grew a lot colder too, and Sakusa had to burn twice the amount of firewood as he normally did.

  
  
  


It was during these days, in winter’s slow overtake of seasons, that Sakusa found _him._

He was sitting there, under a tree, with his back slumped on it. His broad shoulders were dropped, raising lightly with every gentle breath he took. His hair, a shade of somewhat dark, golden yellow, looked like it hadn’t been combed for days. His eyes were closed; Sakusa couldn’t tell if he was sleeping or he was passed out. He had no wounds, just taints and dirt. He was wearing a loose, white shirt- now dirtied by his journey, perhaps- that had sleeves which covered all the way to his wrists. His trousers were a deep brown, just a shade lighter than worn-out shoes.

Sakusa stares at him with a familiar gaze.

The man stirs and flutters his eyes open, turning to the direction where Sakusa stood just moments before. He doesn’t say anything.

That same day, as the sun sank low in the west, Sakusa wraps his collected woods in a rope and binds them so it would be easier to carry them with his right hand while he holds the axe on his left. He walks and notes the things in nature he’d used as markers, like a visual countdown until he gets home - the huge cryptomeria tree, the group of wild mountain plants, the river. As he passes each one, he crosses it off his mental list. Then he pauses, and he halts as he takes sight of the camphor tree from earlier; the one where a person was sitting underneath. 

‘He must have headed home,’ Sakusa thought, staring at the now empty space by the tree’s trunk that suddenly looked unnatural it ticked him off. He reasons that it must have been quite some time since he got to see a human inside the forest that made him act out of his usual going-back-to-his-cave routine. Then he continues on his way.

When night took over and darkness ruled the place, it brought with it howling winds that possessed so much coldness it made Sakusa wrap his arms around himself. Suddenly, his thick coats and the fire seemed to suck at their jobs of keeping him warm.

A moment not long after, another long howl of wind bristled past the thick covers of the cave’s entrance, and made its way to Sakusa; the fire before him danced with it intensely that Sakusa feared it might put itself out. Seeking for warmth, he rubs his palms together, creating friction and heat, feeling the tips of his fingers numbing with the cold. When his system has somehow eased, he makes himself comfortable on his pallet.

He closes his eyes, prepared to battle the cold with a slumber, but then he hears it. A deer’s cry.

It wasn’t new for Sakusa to hear an animal wailing in pain- he’s heard bears, other deers and big cats crying because they get stuck in traps every now and then, especially the ones near the mountain’s clearing. He usually helps them in his own way, using his curse, and be done with it, but this one sounded like it was just nearby, and Sakusa, for all he could be worried about, could not sleep at the noise it was making.

He considers for a moment. Maybe it’ll die when he gets there.

But it was obvious in its loud cries that the pain it had been subjected to was recent. It would take at least an hour for its noises to slowly fade into whimpers. Sakusa takes a sharp breath at the thought.

He finds himself getting up from his pallet and putting his cloak on. At one side of the cave, an unlit torch sat among others and he took it, putting it in contact with the fire he’d made and in no time, he was out of his cave.

He walks fast, taking note of the distance he's walked. The cry of the deer sounded louder as he was nearing it. It took him a whole 7 minutes to reach the source of the cry: a deer writhing in pain with its hind legs looking like it had been crushed by something. 

"This is unusual." Sakusa observes, keeping a distance from the suffering animal. He eyes the form of its legs and deduces that it had been crushed by a rock. 

There are two occasions where rocks would result in fracture in an alert animal, such as a deer's leg: one being landslides or rare moments of rocks falling from near the slopes and rolling over or landing on the animal, and two- humans. But this spot was not near any slopes or higher grounds. 

When the realization struck Sakusa, it was too late- a man had snuck up on him from behind. 

His torch was thrown to the ground. "Stay still if you don't want to get hurt—" The threat in the voice was evident, though it did not faze Sakusa much. Even with his hands being tied so skillfully quick and tight behind him by the perpetrator, he was not scared. 

One of them would be walking home tonight and he was sure it would be him. 

Sakusa stayed still despite the oozing confidence of escaping this so easily. He grunted lightly when the man tightened the knot around both his hands. And this time, he heard his footsteps, now clear to his ears amidst the animal's cries just a few feet away from them. 

"Did they send you?" Sakusa could feel a dagger being pointed by his neck. 

"No. I live here." He answered without hesitation, finding things amusing. It had been quite some time since he talked to someone. To answer honestly was the quickest way to get things done. Plus, the deer was starting to tick him off. "Why? Is someone out to get you?" Despite his growing irritation, he managed to stay sly. 

"You better be honest." The stranger put a hand on his shoulder and whispered the words in his ear before Sakusa felt a swift motion from beside him and in no time, the stranger was in front of him. 

He whipped his head to the side immediately, avoiding the stranger’s eyes. If the tension gets thicker, this man was bound to be a casualty of his curse, but before that, a little conversation wouldn't hurt. 

The man stood still on a spot in front of Sakusa. "Are there a lot of you living here?" 

The question made the latter scoff. "Well aren't you wary of people." He commented, placing his gaze at the distant opening of plants, at anywhere else but the man. He thinks about how awkward he must have looked to the man- a confident front but avoiding one's eyes. _I'm actually doing him a favor_ , he redeemed himself in his thoughts. 

There was a pause, though it didn't seem like it with the deer's cries in the background. It was starting to hurt Sakusa's ear. 

He figured that the man was having trouble what to say next, and he was growing impatient himself. "Is this your doing? This animal's injury?" Very slightly and carefully, Sakusa brought his head in the direction that looked as if he were facing the man, though his gaze was glued on the ground. 

A few seconds ticked by. 

"Are you not going to answer?"

“I thought it was a wild animal. I..” 

Sakusa smiled upon hearing the break of the stanger’s tough front. There was guilt, confusion, and something vulnerable in his voice. He obviously didn’t know what he was doing.

“Aren’t you scared the gods might punish you?” He pressed, suddenly overtaken by the desire to intimidate the man, and he took a step forward.

The man took a step backwards. “I don’t believe in the gods.” He could picture the gritted teeth and the clenched jaw of the man with the way his reply sounded.

The deer’s cries faded in the background as Sakusa, now angry over the man’s statement, lifted his head to meet the man’s gaze. Yes. _He was very angry_. In the most ironic way. This man had just said he didn’t believe in the gods. What an insensitive thing to say to a person cursed and punished by the said beings.

When Sakusa finally saw the face of the stranger, he was caught in surprise. It had been the same stranger who was sleeping under the tree- the one he didn’t admit to himself he was disappointed in when he was gone by the time he came back from the other side of the river. Time stilled.

With even greater surprise that took a few moments to register to him, he was stunned to meet the gaze of honey-glazed eyes that seemed to look at him. How long had it been since he had made eye contact with someone before suspending their lives as stones forever? How long did it take for the curse to start seeping through the person’s body and solidify him wholly? 

Because the deer was still crying, the moon waning, the leaves bristling, and nothing was happening.

Sakusa spots a sweat running down the stranger’s temple. He must be wondering what made Sakusa pause. Thoughts zoomed past and over other thoughts inside Sakusa’s head. Had his curse been lifted? If so, since when? Why wasn’t this man turning to stone?

“W-What made you go quiet?” The man blinked and when he opened his eyes again, they didn’t meet Sakusa’s gaze. He was looking somewhere near him, but elsewhere. Sakusa stared hard at him.

“Are you blind?”

There was a change in the stranger’s expression. He was exposed, found out, and though not totally, helpless. Sakusa eyed the dagger on his hand and noted how he tightened his grip on it. Everything about his reaction answered his question.

“You are.” 

“And what of it? What of my inability to see? You will charge towards me, tackle me on the ground, and then kill me?” The man amused Sakusa. He had just got his weakness exposed but he was still acting tough and confident. Sakusa would consider this the very definition of bravery. If he had done exactly the same thing rather than completely give himself up to the gods, would he avoid the punishment given to him? Where would he be now?

“I think you need to calm down.” Sakusa walked away from him and headed to the deer.

The man must have noticed because his posture relaxed, but he was still doubtful and attentive. He, Atsumu Miya, a runaway slave from a grand kingdom, listened closely to the footsteps that were barely heard because of the deer’s cries. He had stumbled upon the forest by chance. He was about to head to some other kingdom (how he’d do it, he didn’t know) but with him being blind and the closest to seeing he had was perceiving light, he could only go on to some extent before his body grumbled for needs. He picked up the sounds of the wind and followed where it took him. He was fluent in nature, he could say, though that wasn’t a good description of a man who crushed a deer’s legs because he thought it was a big cat. In the forest, he sniffed for berries and listened for the source of water- both of which he was successful in doing.

Atsumu turned his head to the sound- or the lack thereof- of the deer. 

“It is done.” The man he didn’t know the name of, nor does he feel the need to know, approached him once more, and he suddenly became aware of how unguarded he was.

“What is done? What did you do? Where is the deer?” Atsumu flooded him with questions.

“What I did to the deer, I could have done to you if not for your inability to see. And for what it’s worth, I think I did us both a favor by quieting it and giving it rest.” The man answered with no hint of feelings.

Atsumu felt his knees go weak. “Don’t kill me.” _Please._ He wanted to say. But in this forest, he is no longer a slave living off the edge of a sword. He is no longer owned by people who sheltered and clothed him only for them to beat him up and make him beg for food and push him to his limits with their pretentious image aiming for perfection in front the crowds of people who devote themselves to them.

“I won’t.” The man told him, and for a moment he wanted to trust his words, but his grip on his dagger remained tight. “If you tell me who you are and why you have come to my forest.”

“ _Your_ forest?” Atsumu repeated. 

The man didn’t feel the need to answer him.

Atsumu drew in a deep breath.

“I am Miya Atsumu-”

“I did not expect you would really tell me your real name, but go on.”

Atsumu frowned. “You’re not even sure if that’s my real name.”

“Trust me, I’m quite certain.” He could hear the grin in the man’s voice. “Your expression says it all.”

Feeling at a loss, he ended up spilling his story to this stranger he didn’t know the intentions of. He didn’t notice when he stopped gripping on his dagger like his life depended on it. He was narrating the part of his story where he was searching for berries in the shrubs when he heard the steps of an animal- the deer- when his stomach grumbled. 

Silence. This time, without the agonized cries of the deer, it’s just the hushed breeze and the distant sound of crickets who probably watched them, making noise. 

Atsumu pursed his lips and then cleared his throat. “Err.. So, that’s it. I think this is the part where we go out of our ways and..” He scratched the back of his head. “I’m sorry about the deer. Goodbye.” _May our paths never cross again._ He wished silently as he slowly backed away, making sure he looked unthreatening, so the man wouldn’t doubt him.

“Be careful. There are pumas roaming around in the night.” Sakusa said out loud and stared at his retreating figure and turned his heel as well, walking away, but not before picking up his dying torch. He was a few trees away from the deer, which was now a stone, when his thoughts interrupted his pace.

In his mind, he saw Atsumu trying to navigate through the forest and jumping in fright everytime an animal passed by. He saw Atsumu taking twice the time it took to walk over the paths he can easily stride on himself. He saw Atsumu putting a hand on his stomach to stop it from grumbling and attracting noise from the animals. He saw Atsumu, who looked so worn out and exhausted already, trying to find something to eat and then a place to sleep.

Sakusa halted to a stop. 

He heaved a sigh. “Oh for fuck’s sake.” Then he turned around once more and started striding back to the direction where Atsumu went.

  
  
  


Atsumu made his way through the woods, his forearm pressed on his abdomen, a silly attempt to suppress the sound of his hunger. It had been very embarrassing for him earlier, he thanked the stranger for being decent enough to laugh at his face after hearing the grumble.

“I’m tired,” He whispered to himself, his feet starting to feel the weariness of having walked all day and stumbling over something once in a while. And, as if the universe was making fun of him, he stepped on a rock and twisted his foot, making him fall on the ground. 

If he weren’t so determined to make his life better, he would have cried then.

A few minutes passed with Atsumu on the ground, not even doing anything to get up. It was as if he was letting the embarrassment of it all pass, even though no one was really there to watch the unfortunate incident. 

A laugh bubbled in his throat. He laughed at his situation. He laughed so hard that he heard the trees rustle with birds who were probably mad at him for disturbing the silence of the night. He laughed because he couldn’t cry.

“This is stupid.” He wiped a tear from his eye, coming out from laughing too much.

He heard a rustling from behind him. 

_A puma._

His eyes widened at the thought. He stood up, immediately regretting it when a sharp pain shot up his right leg from his twisted ankle. _Talk about luck._

He dragged his injured foot and was close to tears. He didn’t want to die a gruesome death, mauled by some puma. He started to panic, eyes welling with tears. The rustling grew louder and he wasn’t sure where to hide. He tried to feel for trees or something solid he can hide himself behind. He turned his head to the sound to be wary when he perceived a red light coming from there. _Humans._

If there was something worse than a puma, it was going back to the people who enslaved him.

He started hyperventilating and tried his best to escape the blurred light. He wanted to ask for help but from whom?

His foot hurt a lot but it was a sacrifice he had to make to make sure he wouldn't be found by some puma or someone from the mansion. He was losing hope because the rustling became footsteps and the footsteps sped up to catch up to him. 

_No. I don't want to go back._

“Atsumu, there you are.”

Atsumu felt his knees give up when he heard the familiar voice. Familiar in the sense that it was the voice of the man who he talked to earlier. He couldn’t admit it loudly but he felt relieved. He plopped down the ground once more.

He heard the man jog over to where he was and he wasn’t sure if he should reach for the dagger in his pocket, just some precaution, in case.

Sakusa stood close to where Atsumu was, giving him space. He must have thought he was a wild animal. Slowly, he bent his legs and crouched in front him. Atsumu looked so shaken that he was tempted to reach out and put his hand at the side of his face- a gesture he had never done for centuries, and a thought that surprised even himself.

“It’s me. The man from earlier. My name is Sakusa Kiyoomi.” He introduced himself, something he hasn’t done since a few years back when he saved an injured bird he wanted to keep as a pet but later accidentally turned it to stone.

“I know,” Atsumu breathed out, “I know.” He repeated himself.

“You must have been startled.” Sakusa’s heart felt heavy at the sight of Atsumu’s lost expression. His eyes weren’t focused directly where Sakusa was, it was as if he was looking through him.

“I’m sorry,” Atsumu said, his voice breaking. He let out a sob. “I’m sorry for asking this, but can I go with you tonight? I’m scared. I don’t think-”

Sakusa, won over by the urge to hold Atsumu’s fragile state, reached him with his free arm (his other was holding the torch), and gave him an embrace. Something the both of them had secretly wanted to get from someone for a long time now.

“It’s alright. That’s why I came back for you.” He rubbed circles on his back.

That night, Kiyoomi walked home and passed through the same trees, the same wildflowers, the same animals hiding behind the shadows, but this time, it was different.

He adjusted his hold on Atsumu’s waist just as Atsumu adjusted his arm slung over Sakusa’s shoulder while he limped his way in the path. He was wearing Sakusa’s cloak, and an unreadable expression on his face.

Sakusa breathed and turned his gaze back to the path they walked on, and he caught himself smiling so faintly he wouldn’t have noticed it himself if he didn’t feel the weird expression of it on his lips.

This time, going back to the cave was different because he wasn't alone anymore. Atsumu was with him. And though neither of them know it yet, Atsumu will be with him for a long time.

**Author's Note:**

> thank you for reading! i found a prompt about medusa falling in love with a blind woman a long time ago and that kind of is the reason why i started this. i had this draft since october and i decided to make this a thing today. i am not so sure how long it will take me to post the continuation though haha. take care!


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